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Education plays a significant role in everyone’s life. People view continued education as a great accomplishment and often strive to continue learning as much as they can about topics that interest them and can aid in their professional and personal growth. What many people take for granted, however, is the basic education they receive in their childhood. The quality of this education, the relationships formed at this time, and the way in which we fit in with our peers help determine who we become and how we feel about ourselves as we grow older.
Cleon Green, a successful businessman, was born with cerebral palsy. He says he'll always be indebted to his parents for making him a fighter, and remembers his mother going to bat for him in elementary school. "My mother and daddy would not let me say, 'No,' when I was asked to get up out of bed and do something constructive with my day," Green said. "I had to have help in almost every way, from getting dressed to getting around town." He remembers when his mother approached the elementary school when he was old enough to begin school. Back then, schools had no "mainstream" programs for people with disabilities. When it was time for him to go to school, his mother went directly to the elementary school principal. "Well, it's time for Cleon to begin school," she told the principal. "Well, what are we going to do?" asked the principal. "Well, he'll be here bright and early the first day," she replied. And just as promised, bright and early on the first day of the new school year, the elementary school had a new student, Cleon Green. To this day, Green thinks his attending "regular" school with "normal" kids was the best thing for everybody concerned. "This was a long time before kids with disabilities were 'mainstreamed' into local schools," Green said. "But it proved to be the best thing all around. It was good for the school; it was good for the students; it was good for the teachers; and it was good for me. I still feel very strongly that it is an injustice to everyone involved when children with disabilities are kept out of the schools." A testament to the opportunities that he had in school may be found in what he accomplished later in life. In May 1978, Green opened a health foods store in downtown Nashville. Called Cleon's Natural Products, the store sold a variety of health foods. As people began asking for specialty products, Green would find sources for those items. "I was making expenses, but people were not as hip about health foods as they are today," Green said. "In 1983, I began selling life insurance, and I did that for approximately 10 years. I loved every day of it." In October 1988, Green was appointed to the Governor's Developmental Disabilities Council, and in the fall of 1989 was appointed to chair the Public Awareness Committee for the council, a responsibility he continued until this past December. In October 1997 Green attended the National Association of Disabilities Council Fall Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as a delegate. Green continues staying active in his community. He's currently vice president of the local Kiwanis Club and will begin serving as president in October. In addition, many adults look to continued education as a way of becoming more independent and expanding their circle of friends within their community. If they were not in a traditional school setting in their youth, continued education has the potential to provide an entirely new experience while enabling people to explore new areas of interest.
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“I lived at a State institution called Rainier School in Buckley, WA from the time I was 8 years old until I was 18. I had very little independence during those years and wasn’t allowed to cry. I moved to Seattle when I was 18 to live and work at United Cerebral Palsy. I also took classes in early childhood development at Shoreline Community College. I loved becoming more independent.” -- Vicki King
